Junadah bin Abi Umayyah said that if I had not heard Sayyiduna Busar bin Artaat (may Allah be pleased with him), I would have cut the hand. He used to say that I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), he used to say: "Do not cut the hand (of a thief) during expeditions and jihad."
Hadith Takhrijاس روایت کی سند ضعیف ہے۔ دیکھئے: [أبوداؤد 4408] ، [ترمذي 1450] ، [نسائي 4994] ، [أحمد 181/4، وغيرهم]
Brief Explanation
(Commentary on Ahadith 2526 to 2528)
Even if the chain of transmission (isnad) of the aforementioned narration is authentic, according to the majority (jumhur), the meaning of this hadith is that if a person steals from the spoils of war (mal-e-ghanīmah), his hand will not be cut off, so that discouragement does not spread among the warriors (mujahideen), and the number of mujahideen does not decrease.